Play

Honestly, I think we take ourselves too seriously. It's about time we start having more fun. We read or hear reports about schools cutting things like physical education, art, music, and now even social studies because we need to focus on improving test scores (which are Math, Science, and English). Interestingly it feels like the more we cut these things the more test scores seem to drop. What's the connection? The things getting cut are fun, playful sorts of activities (with maybe the exception of social studies). I think we need to play more at school, both in the classroom and at recess.

I don't think this is just a problem for kids, though either. I work in a church so consequently I hear on a regular basis how mainline denominations are fading, falling apart, or any number of other ways of describing the same decline. What do we have in common? One of the things I see is a common tradition that pushes us to be more and more serious (devout? pious?) and say things like, "We don't do that around here." Why not? It might be fun. I think (and I may be wrong here) that we all like to have fun and laugh. When looking at any sort of "singles scene" what is one of the most common things people are looking for? A sense of humor. We as adults need to play as well.

I think maybe that's why I liked the post I came across last week. (You can read it here.) In essence it suggested that we need to take play more seriously. When is the last time you "cut loose" and just played? When was the last time you were silly just for the sake of being silly? When is the last time you laughed at yourself? These are good things my friends. If your answer to any of these things was something along the lines of being a long time then I suggest you've got some serious playing to do. Oh sure, there are things we do have to take seriously, but we also need to play as well.